Government

Newly installed Lancaster City Council member Linda Blackmon broke a 3-3 tie Tuesday night as the council granted her request for $6,750 in back pay, compensating her for the nine months when a legal challenge kept her from taking office.
But her vote drew immediate scrutiny under South Carolina’s ethics statute, which says public officials must recuse themselves on any vote “that affects their own economic interests.”

Archie Parnell, who lost a close special election for the 5th Congressional District in June, will run again in 2018, he announced Monday.
The Sumter Democrat will challenge incumbent Republican Ralph Norman, who won the seat after Mick Mulvaney vacated it to become President Trump’s budget director.

Two Democrats say they are running to challenge Republican Gov. Henry McMaster when he runs in 2018.
S.C. Rep. James Smith of Columbia announced his candidacy Monday, and Charleston businessman Phil Noble will officially unveil his plans Wednesday, according to the Charleston Post and Courier. Noble will challenge Smith for the minority party’s nomination.
Besides McMaster, three Republicans have declared their candidacies – Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant, former state agency head Catherine Templeton, and former Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill.

Newly sworn in Lancaster City Council member Linda Blackmon has requested back pay for the nine months she would have served on the council if Jackie Harris had not sued her over the 2016 election results.
Blackmon wants $6,750 in back pay, according to the agenda for Tuesday night’s city council meeting, which was set to begin after press time.
Blackmon’s request got mixed reviews Tuesday afternoon.

If you’re looking for mild-mannered municipal information and log onto www.townofkershaw.net, you’re in for a shock.
Someone has taken over the town’s domain name and transformed it into a porn site.
Kershaw Town Councilman Eddie Coates discovered the change in August when he was preparing to file for reelection.
“I was just trying to see what I needed to do,” he said. “I went to the county’s website, clicked on our link, and well, there it was.

Linda Blackmon was sworn in Sunday as a member of Lancaster City Council, marking the end of an 11-month battle with defeated incumbent Jackie Harris over the 2016 District 3 election.
The S.C. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Blackmon’s win on Sept. 7, and last Thursday it unanimously denied Harris’ motion to reconsider the ruling.
Under S.C. law, Harris was allowed to retain the District 3 seat until her protest of Blackmon’s Nov. 8 election victory was fully adjudicated in the state courts.

County leaders are trying to come up with an ordinance to address pesky door-to-door peddlers who show up uninvited or refuse to leave when asked.
It’s become a real issue for residents in Sun City Carolina Lakes, said Lancaster County Council member Terry Graham.
“I’ve gotten a number of complaints, too, from the subdivisions near the state line,” said council member Brian Carnes, who like Graham represents Indian Land. “A lot of them come in from North Carolina, and when you ask them to leave, they won’t leave….

At Tuesday’s Lancaster City Council meeting, council members Gonzie Mackey, Kenny Hood and Tamara Green Garris got into a testy exchange with Mayor John Howard about his recent stroke and an earlier council vote.
After the heated words, Garris, the mayor pro tem, tried to calm the waters.
“We want to be respectful towards each other,” she said, “and we don’t want the public to think we’re up here fussing and fighting all the time.”

As debate over the Affordable Care Act swirls in Washington, insurance officials this week agreed to allow South Carolina’s only individual plan on the state’s ACA exchange to raise its premiums 31 percent next year.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina initially asked for a 33.4 percent increase, saying this year’s premiums did not generate nearly enough to cover the insurer’s claims, taxes and administrative expenses.

INDIAN LAND – A Lancaster County Council committee is targeting a 2,200-square-foot space at The Commons of Doby’s Bridge as a possible site for satellite county government offices in the Panhandle.
The strip center is at 8451 Charlotte Highway, just past the Gate station on U.S. 521 North.
“It has come at a very opportune time that we didn’t know about before,” said County Attorney John Weaver, who has been scouting for an Indian Land location since May.